If you’re reading this, you’re probably a millennial, a millennial who is struggling to find what you’re supposed to do with your life. I should know, this whole blogging thing was never planned nor did I think I can make a living out of it. There are certainly days when I think of what my job would’ve been if I wasn’t in this industry. In July 2009, I started this blog. Not knowing what content I would create—I just wanted to write. Ironic enough, I hated writing. I was so into the art of photography and drawing—until I joined an essay writing contest in my third year in high school. I won third place and that was the start of my love affair with writing. My passion for photography and my new found love for writing seemed like the perfect recipe for a blog. I created a blogspot account, wrote on it almost every single day, even if I knew I was the only one reading it. Fast forward to 2010, I got my very first blog sponsor. What? A brand wants to sponsor me? Is that even possible? I didn’t even know brands could sponsor bloggers. 8 years later, blogging is still my main source of income and I can definitely say that it still excites me when I click that “add new post” button.

The term millennial is more than just a label—it’s a culture. We might have a bad reputation as self-centered slackers, but let’s face it, we bring something new to the table.

Us, millennials are changing the way things are done, mostly the way we work. So, how does one become successful, you ask? Well, I hate to break it to you—but there is no secret formula to success. We all come from different walks of life, we experience different things, we have our own set of skills, own weaknesses, own insecurities, we deal with things differently. But what I can tell you now is you can be more successful in your chosen paths by putting in that work. I can totally relate to this. I spent so many years talking about what work I want to put out, but never really doing the work. As Chris Sacca (former Google employee and Twitter and Uber investor) said, “ideas are cheap; execution is everything.” This is so true. You may have the talent and the ideas, but if you don’t go out there and put in that work—sooner or later someone else will. Those ideas will be nothing but just ideas. With that, I decided to come up with this guide that can help you (especially those struggling to be productive) with your chosen careers. I am not saying I am successful—heck, not even close to it. The thing with success is, you can never be fully done proving yourself. There is always room for improvement. If you’re someone who is starting out or struggling to decide what you want to do with your life—we all went through that. Now, ready to work like a millennial? Read on.

1. DON’T CHOOSE MONEY FIRST

Growing up I would listen to conversations between my parents and my older siblings, talking about being a slave at their jobs, hating someone at the office, fearing their boss, etc. With our generation now, I learned that millennials are passionate about so many things—we want to do everything. In my nature of business, the more projects/campaigns you book, the more successful you are. I find this to be a good thing. When I was in high school and college, the more diligent and studious you are, the less cooler you are. This is such a stupid mindset—that is why I made sure to choose a job that I am deeply passionate about. Fast forward to 8 years, I am still very much excited about my work. I’d rather make no money at all and love what I’m doing, than earn a ton of money and hate my job. Earning money at the cost of your well-being is not worth it. Do something you really love and enjoy—then find a way to earn from that. Sometimes you can let your work speak for you, but most of the time, you really have to put yourself out there.

2. WORK ANYWHERE YOU WANT

You can disagree on me on this but I believe millennials get bored easily. We crave movement. Most of the blog entries I’ve written on this blog were all composed inside the plane, airport, at a hotel room or at a cafe. With the internet, we can pretty much bring our work anywhere. Totally different from Gen X wherein they hate bringing their work with them. I personally get more work done when I am out of the house. I love working at home but there are so many temptations—I can lay down my bed anytime I please, stand up to open the fridge (I do this way too much lol), the possibilities are endless. Haha! When I’m at a cafe or somewhere public, I am more aware of my surroundings, I can sit for hours writing and getting more work done.

I find ways to work almost anywhere, so I try to bring trusty gadgets that are secure, lightweight, and have good battery life. The HP Spectre is both light and thin, which will make you forget you’re carrying it around. My blogger friends are always amazed at the fact that I bring my laptop almost anywhere because it’s not a hassle for me. All the photos you see on my Instagram are edited using Adobe Lightroom on my laptop. I often put my HP Spectre in my tote bag—that’s how light and thin it is to bring around.

The thing with millennials is, the work we often choose is something that is a big part of our lives. It is somehow connected to us. My blog is an extension of my personality. My passions, my beliefs and how I see things. I believe millennials are one of the most efficient and productive generations. We want to achieve so many things. We are truly blessed to have the internet—we get to have online portfolios, launch our businesses online and get more opportunities than ever.

3. DON’T BE AFRAID TO TAKE RISKS

Like I said, you are never fully done proving yourself. Always take risks. I know this seems easier said than done—but trust me. I used to hate taking risks and going out of my comfort zone, but there is a different kind of satisfaction when you overcome your fears and just do it. Years ago I did my first talk/workshop, something I absolutely despise. I promised myself that this is something I would never do but I did it. I told myself to take a deep breath, don’t rehearse what I was going to say and just be my usual goofy self. My first talk/workshop was a success—the audience was participative, engaging and asked so many questions. I still get nervous whenever I do these types of things but point is, you’re overcoming those fears and you’re one step closer to success! High five!

4. MULTITASK LIKE NOBODY’S BUSINESS

Millennials have mastered the art of multitasking. We have somehow learned to engage in multiple conversations at once. We probably have 10 tabs open on our browsers and text a bunch of different people at the same time. This is probably why a lot of us millennials juggle a lot of things at once. We want to do many things. You probably have an office job but also have an online business on the side. I am a blogger but I also get jobs as a stylist, photographer, etc. I write about style and now I have ventured into food, fitness, travel and tech. See? There is always room for improvement. If you don’t try a lot of things, then you’ll never really find what you’re truly passionate about.

5. SURROUND YOURSELF WITH LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE

“Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and thinkers, but most of all, surround yourself with those who see the greatness within you, even when you don’t see it yourself.” This quote by Edmund Lee really struck me because it’s so true. I used to hang out with people whom I thought were my friends, but at those times of failure, they weren’t around for me. This is why I learned to surround myself with people who inspire me, push me to be better and be there for me in times of success and failures. This doesn’t just apply to your friends or your officemates, this can also be the people you look up to. With social media, you get to discover so many talented people, people you aspire to be. I discovered all my idols online and a lot of them played a huge role with how I work and how I perceive things. This is why you also need to choose your idols wisely.

6. BACK IT UP WITH TOOLS THAT CAN HELP YOU DO THE JOB

Surround yourself with people who will lift you up. Same goes with my gadgets. I choose gadgets that can make me more efficient, more productive and basically make my life easier. I have my camera for my content, a vlogging camera for my YouTube channel, my phone, my external hard drive and battery and my HP Spectre laptop. These are all the tools I need to do my work—I can bring them anywhere, work anywhere and create content when inspiration hits me.

The HP Spectre’s classy shiny gold detailing, the use of dark ash and copper makes it easy on the eyes. Millennials sometimes choose aesthetics over functionality, but this baby has surprisingly fast performance to back it up. I’ve had this laptop for 2 years already and I’ve had effortless multitasking and web browsing—making it easy for me to get the job done. The color and contrast of the HP Spectre is topnotch—they somehow managed to tweak the screen towards more natural colors rather than popping saturations—which is perfect when I edit all the photos you see online. For leisure purposes, the quad Bang & Olufsen speakers produce clear and crisp audio quality. With a device this thin, you may think it won’t be able to handle this kind of sound—but this was never the case for the HP Spectre. Netflix and chill? Yes please.

7. REWARD YOURSELF FOR YOUR HARDWORK

Now for the fun part. Every time you accomplish something big, reward yourself. It doesn’t have to be anything grand, it could be something as simple as a little Instagram break, a quick drive to your favorite coffee place, or maybe a slice of cake lol. Whenever I finish an article or a video, I reward myself by watching an episode of my favorite Netflix series (2 years ago I would reward myself with food and it did not work to my advantage lol). In my case, my friends love to party…and I don’t join them unless I deserve to celebrate. I make sure I had a productive work week before I can have fun by the end of the week! How you reward yourself for your hard work is completely up to you.

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Comments

Miguel Bayla

I am proud to say that I have an amazing idol and that is you, Kuya David! Each lesson that you gave hits me hard. Of course, we all have different stories to tell but this blog is for everyone! Thank you for sharing your story to us and I always love this kind of blog!
Congratulations to you and Ate Vina winnng the best dressed last night!!! Cheers!

dgmnl

Wow wow wow, thank you Miguel! This means so much to me, you have no idea! Thank you for reading!!!!

Christian Paul Panlaque

Grabe lagi nalang ako nakakarelate sa blogs mo 😭😭

dgmnl

Ay talaga ba? Haha ok yan!!!

john henry

“Choose your idols wisely”! More than blessed that I chose you as my idol!

dgmnl

Wowww thank you so much! I’m honored! Haha!

Krissy

Awesome photos as always! 🙌🏻🤟🏻

dgmnl

Thanks so much Krissy!

John Philip Constantino Bravo

Love this, bro! Kaya lodi kita eh!

dgmnl

Salamat bro!

Kimbér

I can totally relate to this blog!! Thank you so much for posting this. So timely!

dgmnl

Aww, my pleasure. Thank you so much!

Barona Rhodel

I was lucky enough that I chose you as my idol. I’m a big fan of yours. You keep on inspiring me as always. Thank you thank youuu. You turn may can’ts into cans😊

dgmnl

Wowwwwww! I’m honored! Thank you so much! Love that last line ;)

Trisha Mae Ho

I have been following you on IG for a while now because I love your photos. I never actually read your blog posts, this post is the first one I’ve read! And I will admit that this post is actually so relevant to my situation right now. I want to do so many things but I end up not doing anything! Thank you so much for sharing this, it was a great read!

dgmnl

Oh wow thanks for finally taking the time to read my blog! I know you guys love browsing through beautiful photos but I appreciate it when people read my posts here because I pour my heart into every entry I write.

I wish you the best of luck in whatever you’re going through right now. It will only get better. No way but up! You can do it! :)

This is a really good guide, David :) Thank you for this! As a freelancer I have my moments of confusion, but guides like yours do help.

dgmnl

Thank you so much Aica. As a freelancer I have moments like this too!

Dana Erika Medina

You’re blog entry keeps getting better and better,I love the contents, the color, and all. <3 You're such an inspiration.
Do you ever consider having your own cafe?

dgmnl

Thank you so much, Dana!

That has always been a dream of mine! Why’d you ask? :)

Izah Charles Dadea

Shout out to all Millennial-Public School Teachers out there! Hi DG! I’ve been an avid follower of your IG account and a reader of your blogs since then. This specific blog content has given me new perspective in life! Oh well, I guess I need to take some risks and go out of my comfort zone to live my life for once. Hehe GOD BLESS DG and keep on inspiring people! 🙏
Cherio,
Charles

dgmnl

That’s awesome to know, Charles!

Thank you for taking the time to read and leave a comment!

Karl Angelo Garcia

Hi David/DG. Congratulations for this blog. I like the topic and how you put your self into it. Its good to know that you showcased everything that a millenial needs to know and understand. Well they have their own perspective of how they view life, but this one is inspiring and made a touch in their hearts. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. 👏👏

“Don’t be afraid to take risks” is pretty much applicable in everyday life. Sometimes we are too afraid to go out of our comfort zones and because of that, we tend to miss out on some opportunities. After reading this blogpost, I am now inspired to try and do the things i’ve always wanted to do but never did because of fearing too much. Thank you for this one! 💯

PS: You said to “choose your idols wisely”. I guess I made the right choice that I chose you as one of my idols. 🙌 keep inspiring other people, Kuya David!

Very well said kuya David 😄 It truly does reflects to our generation. I am so touched with every words your saying within every tip and these made me feel that time is so short for me. 😥 But I’m thankful to have read this because it gave me fresh insights and motivation to start things I’m passionate about, eventhough lots of struggles are on the way. Thank you po ulit kuya David. I hope I could be like you someday 🙏😁😊

dgmnl

Thank you so much Renz! You can be like me and so much more. Be your true authentic self! I know you will go places!

This was worth to read, you have been my inspirations in doing and pursuing my chosen career path right now. It’s been a while since I realized that a corporate job isn’t for me or should I say I am not passionate about. And now that I know what I wanted to do and that is to be a blogger, a creative content creator, this awesome ways to be successful in your chosen craft really able to help me to work harder than before. I have so many things that I like to do and to be able to do them is we really need to exert a lot of effort. Thanks for this and continue to produce great content! :)

dgmnl

Wow, thank you so much Kent! You said it so well!!!!

Charobelle Fetalvero

This is really worth to read .. thank you and continue inspiring people! :)

NatalieSanelyte

Happy Happy New Year, Dear David!

Hope this year to read more creative & unique articles and reviews from you! Love ya! :)

Numbers 3 and 4 is definitely a MUST! Take risk and learn to multitask! For a better 2019! You are still my inspiration since 2015 reason why I also blog at http://www.adambelda.com! Thanks for this blog post DG!

About David

David Guison is the founder of top menswear blog DG MANILA. Launched in 2009, David has consistently produced quality content for his brand covering different fields from fashion, food, fitness, tech, grooming and travel. He has worked with over 200 local and international brands including top fashion labels such as Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana, Lacoste, Zara, Topman, H&M as well as Canon and Ford. David is a true adventurer and is checking off his travel bucket list--one post at a time. Join “DG” in his adventures. First MNL. Next, the world.